When the Spurs go Marching In (Soon)

Our Busts are Not Busts

We shelled out £100 million for seven new players this season, and unsurprisingly, not everything worked out. Granted, at the time, I was dancing around singing to every Arsenal fan I could find about how Eric Lamela was twice the player Gareth Whatshisname was and how we were going to win the Premier League with 114 points. Now of course, that was obviously a little short-sighted of me. Trying to bed in so many new players at the same time was obviously going to be a struggle, and the individual issues some of the newbies had were also probably unavoidable.

Let’s start with Bobby Soldado. Poor guy–could not hit the broad side of a barn this season, but consider—he still managed to tally 11 goals, and while those were spread across multiple competitions and many came from the penalty spot, he also was playing in a system he didn’t fit in under AVB, and he was not given a chance to continue his form after his fantastic goal against Cardiff City.  Coupled with personal issues he had to deal with in his wife’s miscarriage and struggling to learn English, there’s no reason why next year can’t be a million times better for The Soldier.

Our other big “bust” came in the form of Eric Lamela. Once again, poor guy. He struggled to settle, sure, but that’s bound to happen with a kid who cannot communicate with his teammates. Additionally, if the reports are true that he came to Spurs with an injury, then his form can hardly be worried about, as he never really had a chance. Plus, he was inactive for almost the entire last half of the season. He’s an undeniable talent, and with another season to settle, we can be confident that he will come good.

The other five signings give us even less to worry about. Vlad Chiriches has displayed excellent touch on the ball for a center back, and once he further adjusts to the quickness and talent of Premier League attackers, he can prove to be a great addition. He’s also properly terrifying in a face mask. Paulinho has proven that he can thrive when released of too much defensive responsibility as in the last game against Villa when he grabbed the opener and our fastest goal of the season. Chadli has developed into a very solid player, and he’ll only improve. Capoue has shown flashes of tenacity and brilliance, and he will continue to improve once he can stay healthy. And of course, our Beautiful Dane will only get better and better.

Next: Injuries